This blog post will be discussing principles of design, typography, color, and photography that I used to make this magazine spread mock-up. It will also describe the purpose of the magazine spread, and it’s intended audience. Design principles discussed will include repetition, alignment, and proximity, visual contrast, visual interest, and the importance of cohesiveness.

This magazine spread uses a two column layout, with multiple headings, and quotes from the article (called pull quotes), and the use of text wraps around images and pull quotes. It also contains consistent heading typeface and body copy typeface throughout the pages.

My targeted audience of the magazine spread are those who are having a faith crisis and feel like they’re just going through the motions (ie. dancing without music). The main message I wanted to communicate through the design is to bring a calm assurance that it is possible to be able to hear the music again. This design appeals to the target audience through a calming color palette, and poignant photographs that were used to convey the message of the article. The color palette is visually appealing to those seeking peace, answers, and reassurance.

Design Analysis

There were several main design decisions that were made once an article was chosen. The first decision was to choose a layout. This was done through multiple sketches as well as looking to other magazine articles with multiple pages for inspiration on how to bring visual interest and be cohesive. I chose to use a two column layout. I feel like it is easier to read the article in this format compared to using a three column layout. There is also consistent proximity and padding between the columns and images and quotes. The visual interest and contrast lend well to the reader to move their eyes throughout the pages in the magazine spread.

Color

The next design decision that I made was to choose a color palette. I specifically was looking for a color palette with a warm undertone, but peaceful, relaxing, calm colors. I am using the color palette called BeachGlass from Color Schemer. Repetition of the two dominant colors of green and blue can be found on every page. Other repeated elements include triangles in the corners of the pages, and typeface colors. This helps the cohesion. The pull quotes also use colored rectangles behind the quote to create both visual interest and visual contrast.

Typography

For the body copy text, I used an Oldstyle, or serif, typeface of Minion Pro. Because the body text was an Oldstyle typeface, the heading typeface chosen was a sans serif, Helvetica, for visual contrast. Another typeface, script, called Great Vibes was used on the pull quotes to create more visual contrast and help the quotes to stand out more. All of the magazine spread text is left aligned. Contrasting typefaces are beneficial to highlight and draw attention to important areas.

Photography

The first two photographs used the rule of thirds, in that they take up approximately 2/3 and 1/3 of the page. The second photograph uses depth of field and focuses on the man with the headphones. The third photograph was cropped to fit in a circle to help the depth of field by focusing on the person dancing/jumping in the air with joy.

The first photograph was chosen because a violin takes extreme focus to play, as well as requires a minimum amount of background noise to be able to hear it. The second photograph was chosen because the image I wanted to convey was literally and figuratively tuning out the background noise of life to be able to hear better. The last photograph was used because I felt it embodied the essence of the joy of being able to hear the music, and not simply going through the motions and dancing without music.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this blog post has discussed the design principles of visual contrast, and the use of color for visual interest. It has also discussed the value in contrasting typefaces. Repetition has been used through color, typography choices, alignment, proximity. This magazine spread utilizes a two column layout, with multiple headings, and pull quotes from the article, and the use of text wraps around images and pull quotes. It also contains consistent heading typeface and body copy typeface throughout the pages and creates a visually appealing and cohesive magazine spread.

This first altered image shows that an Oldstyle typeface was used in the title “Architectural Digest.” Oldstyle typefaces can be identified by their angled serifs on both uppercase and lowercase letters. All the curved strokes in the letterforms have a moderate thick to thin transition.

This second altered version of the advertisement shows the Sans serif typeface used. Sans serif typeface can be identified by not having serifs on the ends of the strokes. They also are mono-weight, and have no thick to thin transitions in the strokes.

Contrasting Elements

Both the Oldstyle and sans serif typefaces have contrasting elements. For example, the kerning or spacing between the Oldstyle typeface letterforms feels tighter in the words “Architectural Digest” compared to the kerning of the sans serif typeface. The sans serif typeface used in the words “Design Show” add contrast with the color blue right below the Oldstyle typeface. Also, the form of the two typefaces have contrast. The Oldstyle typeface relies on all capital letters, while the sans serif font has a mix of all capital letters and lowercase.

Conclusion

The use of two contrasting typefaces in this advertisement contribute to the overall design. The Oldstyle typeface sets the company name “Architectural Digest” apart from the rest of the advertisement. The use of the sans serif typeface in the words “Design Show” draws the reader’s attention because it is in blue, while the rest of the advertisement uses black letterforms. The use of sans serif as the main typeface makes it easy to read which is critical in an advertisement for an event. Also, the use of lowercase sans serif at the bottom of the advertisement help visually move the eye through the words instead of slowing down to process all capital letters.

Introduction

The design was for a restaurant named Eden. No specific designer was listed, just the design company.

This post will discuss and analyze the use of the following design principles: contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity, and color.

Contrast

The design company utilized the principle of contrast in a few different ways. The font colors create contrast with the use of black, white and green. The bold green font also contrasts with the narrower black font. There is also contrast in font style in the restaurant name Eden, which has more of a handwritten look, the word Harrisons, which has a script style, and a sans serif capitalized font. The last contrast used was the contrast between the white text with green background, and the green and black text with the white background.

Repetition

This advertisement uses repetition in the use of the color green. It is used as background colors at the bottom of the advertisement, in the food image, and the bold text at the top. The bold text at the top also uses repetition with two words per line followed by a period. The black font is repeated in both paragraphs. This is also the case with the white upper case font at the bottom of the advertisement. Finally, there is repetition in the bottom two lines with center alignment and a bullet point between words.

Alignment

This image shows the alignment in the advertisement. Most of the text is aligned to the left. However, the bottom two lines of text have centered alignment. The plate of food is aligned to the right side of the advertisement.

Proximity

This altered image highlights the proximity between text that is grouped together. For example, the green bold font and the uppercase black text beneath it. The two descriptive paragraphs with black font are also grouped together. The name of the restaurant and the address and phone number have close proximity because they are contact information. The bullet points also provide proximity between names and special information.

Color

This advertisement uses a complementary color scheme with the use of red in the food image and green text and background color. It also uses black and white text to help it not be too busy looking. The red and greens used have a warm undertone, which is appropriate for food, as it gives the illusion/visual image of nice warm food.

Conclusion

All of these five design principles contribute to the overall design. The alignment is one of the most significant contributions to the design due to such a strong, repeated alignment. Proximity contributes to the design by making it easier to read by grouping things together that belong with each other. Color contributes to the overall design because it is a strong complementary color scheme, with warm-undertones and isn’t too busy. Repetition of color helps tie the advertisement together. Finally, contrast contributes to the design so that it is easy to read and grabs your attention.